Sweet and Spicy: Chile-Glazed Chicken

I have been doing a lot of cooking lately, so felt like making something easy tonight.

I have had this recipe for New Mexico Chile-Glazed Chicken with Hominy Polenta in my Epicurious Recipe box for a while. However, I couldn't find hominy anywhere. And, after reading the recipe, the sauce wasn't used as a glaze so I decided to make the sauce and change the rest of the recipe.

For a side I heated a can of pinto beans in sauce. I know, that's not like me at all!! The only canned things I use are beans for chili or soups, chicken broth, and tomatoes. Jon walked into the kitchen and screamed in shock and horror that I was cooking something from a can! We are all allowed a break every now and then, right? Surprisingly, we loved the beans and finished off the entire can.

Chile-Glazed Chicken - Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
• 4 chiles: I used 3 Anaheims and 1 Serrano, seeded and roughly chopped. The original recipe calls for 4 New Mexico chiles, but after some research, found that Anaheims plus one hotter pepper make a good substitute
• 3/4 c low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (my addition)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter (butter is optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350
• Put chicken broth and chopped chiles in a pot. Bring to a boil and then cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and add honey, balsamic vinegar, cumin, and chili powder. Puree. I then returned the sauce to the pot and kept it warm over low heat.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium-high heat.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook for 4 minutes on each side.
• Spoon some of the sauce onto each breast and brush out evenly.
• Transfer the pan of chicken to the oven, and let cook for about 8 minutes.
• Serve with more sauce, if desired.

At first taste, the sauce was very sweet, but then the heat crept in at the end. We normally don't like sweet sauces or foods, but this sauce had just the right balance of sweetness and heat. We both loved it. Quick and easy, too.

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